


Color Theory

by dogloser



Category: Naruto
Genre: Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto)-centric, Fluff, Gen, Hatake Kakashi is a Good Teacher, Hijinks & Shenanigans, I Had To, M/M, No beta we die like mne, Team Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, and then kakashi and iruka being cute, it's just team 7 shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:34:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25008541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dogloser/pseuds/dogloser
Summary: Everyone knows Kakashi’s favorite color is blue. They just don’t knowwhy. (And, really, Kakashi thinks it should be pretty obvious.)
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka
Comments: 20
Kudos: 400





	Color Theory

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ShyDaredevil](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShyDaredevil/gifts).



> based off my hc that kakashi's favorite color changes on his ship, and dd just so happens to love kakairu. i wrote this in like, an hour, but i hope you enjoy anyway !!

Kakashi’s favorite color is blue. Everyone knew that. The man wore blue just about every day of his life. Of course, if the only splash of blue came in the standard Jonin uniform, perhaps his friends would be a little more skeptical of it, but no, even his ninken wore blue in the forms of cute bandanas with henohenomoheji sewn into them.

And everyone had their different theories as to why Kakashi liked the color blue so much. Perhaps it was because it was Konoha Jonin standard, and there was no other color that appealed to him more than the one that signified loyalty and strength to their village. Others argued that it was because the man was a genius, and blue signified intelligence and wisdom. 

More than anyone, Naruto and Sakura were on the hunt to determine why their sensei’s favorite color was blue. They roped Sasuke into it, too, by convincing him that learning why Kakashi liked blue so much would reveal a little more about the mysterious Sharingan user. 

And so they asked around. They asked everyone they could think to ask and then some, within reason. It wasn’t as if they could summon Kakashi’s ninken in secret to ask  _ them _ why he liked blue so much, and so it fell to them to quietly gather information without alerting Kakashi.

Because, of course, Kakashi would give them some dumb, vague answer and con them all into dropping the subject.

So, no, they absolutely were not going to Kakashi with this, even if that was the most direct route. Even Sasuke agreed that the man in question would be absolutely no help in this regard. In fact, the Hatake would most likely be a hindrance to their quest.

They went after their peers first, cornering Team 10 and Team 8 at different times to bombard them with their questions. Kiba was absolutely no help at all, although Hinata and Shino had some suggestions.

“Perhaps Kakashi-sensei is sad,” Shino said. “Why? Because blue is the color that is associated with sadness.”

Naruto and Sakura exchanged glances. “I don’t think that’s it,” Sakura gently broke it to him. “Kakashi-sensei doesn’t really seem sad. Just like he doesn’t care.”

“I know, um, that blue can also be seen as… be seen as responsibility,” Hinata offered shyly, hiding behind Kiba the entire time. “He’s a Jonin-sensei, so… so he must have a lot of responsibility, looking after all of you. Um! Not—not to say that you guys are, um—”

Naruto interrupted her with a loud scoff. “As if! Kakashi-sensei is late all the time! There’s no way he’d pick blue because of that.”

“Hey!” Kiba shouted, getting up in Naruto’s space. “Don’t shut down Hinata’s idea like that! You came to us for help, nerd!”

Sakura quickly ushered Naruto away from  _ that _ , Sasuke following indifferently behind until they found Team 10, lying about under the shade of an oak tree. This time, when they asked, they came away with a useful tidbit of information.

Shikamaru, who was not the source of useful information, only gave a lazy sigh, his arms crossed behind his head, tilted to the sky. “Maybe because it’s the color of the sky,” he offered. “How am I supposed to know?” 

Choji provided no better, saying something about how maybe Kakashi-sensei really loves blueberries, and that could be why blue was his favorite color. It was actually Ino with said useful tidbit, although Sakura was more than loath to admit it.

“Kakashi-sensei stops by our shop and buys blue flowers, sometimes,” Ino said. “Generally, they symbolize love, hope, and beauty, but he never tells us where he brings them. It’s only every once in a while, but it’s random, too.”

“So you can’t make out a pattern,” Sasuke murmured.

Ino nodded, but before she could open her mouth, Sakura was grabbing her boys by the arms and dragging them away with a “Thanks, Ino-pig!” and promptly ignoring the banshee howls of rage behind her. Thank the gods for Shikamaru’s shadow possession jutsu.

At noon, they got lunch and went over what they knew—which was practically nothing. They couldn’t stalk out the Yamanaka flower shop because there was no set time that Kakashi ever went to buy flowers, and stalking  _ Kakashi _ was definitely not an option. The Jonin was too elusive and slippery for them to even hope to catch him with these mysterious blue flowers.   


“Do you think Kakashi has a crush?” Sakura found herself asking, pushing the ramen around in her bowl. Both her boys looked at her quizzically, and she flushed, ducking her head.

“What do you mean?” Sasuke prompted.

“Just that… Well, Ino said blue flowers could represent love, right? Maybe he’s seeing someone.”

“ _ Ew _ , Kakashi-sensei with a  _ crush? _ He’s like, so old—” Naruto began. Sakura whacked him hard enough on the back of the head that he faceplanted into his bowl and inhaled ramen broth, leaving him sputtering and more or less silent for a few blissful seconds.

“Or maybe it’s for the Memorial Stone,” Sasuke added quietly. Sakura felt a chill come over her; even Naruto quieted. “He visits there a lot. I’ve seen him leave flowers.”

“He did say he lost a lot of people, didn’t he?” Sakura murmured. “Maybe…”

“Hello!! Students of my Eternal Rival!!!” Came a booming voice from right behind them, and all three jumped, whipping around to come face to face with a very green-clad ninja.

“Gai-sensei!” Naruto hollered.

Sakura tucked her hair behind her ear. “Hi, Gai-sensei.”

“Have you seen Kakashi?! I must challenge him before my lovely pupils and I depart!”

Sasuke, who had been quiet, suddenly leaned forward. “Gai-sensei,” he began, earning the Jonin’s rapt attention, “do  _ you _ know why Kakashi’s favorite color is blue?”

Gai paused for a moment, considering. Then, a broad grin came across his face, as blinding as the sun, and he laughed heartily. “Ah, so you’re seeking the meaning of my Rival’s favorite color, are you?” 

It sounded like Gai knew something. All three students leaned in, curiosity eating at them.

“Color theory, my friends!” Gai bellowed, as if that made any sense.

“Color theory?” Naruto repeated.

“Yes, color theory! Now, I must go to my lovely students! Fare well!!” 

And as suddenly as he came, Gai was gone. Team 7 was left with their Ichiraku ramen and their thoughts.

“What’s color theory?” Naruto asked.

Sakura and Sasuke were equally at a loss. So they turned to Teuchi for help. The old man behind the counter laughed, throwing his towel over his shoulder. “Color theory isn’t my strong suit,” he said, leaning on the counter. “I’m sure someone at the Academy would know.”

Naruto shot up from his seat. “Iruka-sensei! Come on, guys, he should still be on his lunch break!”

“Thank you for the food, Teuchi!” Sakura called as she and Sasuke chased after their blond comrade.

They burst into the Academy doors shortly before the lunch period was about to end. All of them still had the route to Iruka’s class memorized, and they just  _ had _ to catch him before his pre-Genin class returned, because he would have his hands too full to give them time otherwise.

As they turned down the hallway to Iruka’s room, they saw that the door was open, which wasn’t unusual. Iruka was quite friendly, and more often than not other teachers came into his room to eat lunch with him and chat. What  _ really _ caught their attention, however, was the voice that came from the room.

“Maa, Sensei… You said the kids were being difficult this morning, that’s all.”

All three students skidded to a stop.  _ Kakashi-sensei?! _

Silent as mice, they crept closer to the door to confirm. So that they all could see properly, they climbed precariously on one another, Naruto on the bottom and Sakura on the very top. While it was dangerous, it granted them a look into the room. And, lo and behold, there stood Kakashi, leaning on Iruka’s desk with one hand.

On Iruka’s desk were blue flowers.

“Kakashi,” Iruka was saying, and the teacher had a blush on his cheeks, highlighting the discolored scar across his nose. “You don’t have to get me flowers every time the children—”

“Mm, I know.”

Iruka sighed, leaning back in his chair. His hair was down, although he lifted his hands to start pulling it back into a low ponytail. The movement highlighted the hair tie on his wrist: It was a dark blue.

“You’ll just come up with other excuses to buy me flowers, won’t you?”

“If I have to.”

Iruka chuckled, tying his hair back before leaning forward in his chair. “That’s very sweet of you to say, especially since your students are spying on us right now.”

The Genin yelped. Naruto lost his balance, and all three of them crashed into the room. Kakashi was chuckling as he turned, crossing his arms and leaning his lower back against the desk.

From the floor, Team 7 had a lovely view of Iruka’s classroom—and, as they were noticing now, much of it was decorated with blue.

“Now, haven’t I told you it’s rude to spy?” Iruka sighed. Kakashi tsked, although it was clear he was amused, even behind the mask.

Naruto scrambled to his feet first. “You! You’re buying Iruka-sensei flowers? What for?!”

“Gah,  _ idiot! _ ” Sakura hollered, making a fist. Naruto shied away before she had the chance to smack him again. “Isn’t it obvious?! Think about what Ino said!”

While Naruto was putting the pieces together, Sasuke dusted off his clothes and crossed his arms. “You two are dating.”

“It’s really not much of a secret,” Kakashi hummed. 

Naruto pointed an accusing finger at him. “Then why didn’t you tell us?”

Iruka stood, pushing back the strands of his hair that had already fallen out. “I’m sure you didn’t think to ask, did you, Naruto?”

“Well,” Sakura started, almost shyly, “what we really wanted to ask was why your favorite color is blue. But, um, I think we got it! So thank you! Sorry to interrupt!”

With that, she turned and abruptly shoved her boys out of the classroom, with protesting yelps from their both. The door slammed behind her, leaving the Chunin and Jonin alone in the classroom.

“How long did you know they were there?” Iruka asked, walking around the desk to stand beside Kakashi.

“Maa, I saw them coming down the road.” The Hatake nodded to the window facing the front of the Academy. 

“So, you really don’t mind them knowing?”

“They were going to find out eventually.”

“Naruto took it better than I thought he would.”

Kakashi hummed, and they lapsed into silence. Alone, truly, the Jonin wrapped his arms around Iruka’s waist, tugging the teacher into his chest. Iruka chuckled, leaning his head on his boyfriend. He always appreciated these small moments of privacy. They were few and far between during the day, especially as Kakashi wasn’t one for PDA.

“Kakashi,” Iruka began. Kakashi hummed in response, and Iruka took that as his cue to continue. “Am I really the reason why your favorite color is blue?”

Kakashi chuckled. He pulled down his mask to press a kiss to the Umino’s neck. 

“Maa, Sensei, how couldn’t it be, when you wear it so well?” 

Iruka scoffed, pulling his head away to look Kakashi in the eye. “Seriously, Kakashi, we’re in a school. With children.”

“Mm. I was serious, though.” Kakashi drew Iruka back in by the waist, pressing them chest to chest. “You look beautiful in blue, Iruka. I fell in love with the color as soon as I fell in love with you.”

Iruka blushed, but he leaned up to softly kiss Kakashi’s lips. “You know, I’ve become surprisingly fond of white recently, too.”

“If you’re talking about my hair, it’s  _ gray _ .”

“It’s white.”

“Maybe I should hire Naruto to put gray hair dye in your shampoo. See how  _ you _ like it.”

Iruka scoffed. “Kakashi, I have a classroom full of pre-Genin at my disposal. I don’t think you want to go down that route.”

Kakashi laughed, quietly, and Iruka felt his chest warm at the sound. Hearing Kakashi’s true laughter was something incredibly precious to him, as it was shared with very few. 

“Alright,” Iruka sighed, pulling back. “Lunch is almost over. I’ll see you for dinner?”

Kakashi had already pulled his mask back up. “Of course, Sensei. Don’t stay too late grading.”

“I won’t. I love you.”

Kakashi smiled. “I love you too, Iruka.” With a last, soft kiss, the Hatake was gone, and Iruka was alone for a few short minutes. He took the flowers Kakashi brought him and put them in a vase, setting them on the windowsill.

The sunlight caught on the blue petals.


End file.
